Noob here :P

O

overburnz

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hi i'm from Portugal 30 years old, and i'm tryingg to start me on linux OS, but need a little help

1st - Wich is the most user-friendly distro of linux?
2nd - can you gimme some tips on what i should do first in security issues and apps i should use?

the main use i give to my laptop is internet browsing and some ocasional downloads :)

thnks very much for all the help guys ;)
 


Hello, overbrunz. Here are my opinions.

1st - Wich is the most user-friendly distro of linux?

A lot of people will have a lot of opinions. Linux Mint seems to be a hot topic here. It is a fine OS and I have installed it and used it on several machines; but in my experience, it always has bugs that are a pain to get rid of.

As a noob, I would suggest you stay away from the unconventional desktop environments until you get your feet wet. By unconventional, I specifically mean Unity (Ubuntu) and Gnome 3 (Fedora, among others). These are great OSs, but there is quite a bit of a learning curve and I would hate to see you get scared off so soon.

Personally, I would suggest Zorin OS as a beginning Linux distro. The look and feel of the default DE is very close to Windows 7, so most people do not have much of an issue starting up. Once you feel comfortable, you can try out others, like Ubuntu or Fedora, to see if you want to try something new.

2nd - can you gimme some tips on what i should do first in security issues and apps i should use?

As far as security goes, most major distros are very secure out of the box. You might want to disable some ports or add antivirus software or something like that, but, generally, you should be fine with the default security.

As far as the apps go, it all depends on what you use the computer for. Most major distros will come with office software, an internet browser, a music player, disc burner, and other software like games and a calculator. Some, like Linux Mint and Ubuntu come with so much that you will probably not use most of it.

If you are looking for security specific apps, then it depends on the OS you choose and the specific security issue that you are worried about.

the main use i give to my laptop is internet browsing and some ocasional downloads :)

thnks very much for all the help guys ;)

Give Puppy Linux a try if you do not want to permanently alter you computer. Or, you could try any distro to surf the web and download songs. But, my recommendation is for Zorin OS.

Hope this helps.
 
Welcome!
One suggestion, a quick-fix for your question is to install peppermint --http://peppermintos.com, open terminal at end of first boot and type he following commands
PHP:
sudo apt-get update
PHP:
sudo apt-get install aptitude
PHP:
sudo aptitude safe-upgrade

Let it do its thing, which may take a while, depending on your connection speed
just to be safe, reboot, then at the terminal once again, type

PHP:
sudo apt-get install perl-tk && sudo apt-get install bastille

Then go here --https://help.ubuntu.com/community/BastilleLinux -- and read up as to why I suggested installing Bastille on an ubuntu-based distro
 
thanks to both of you ;) will give it a try ;)

regarding the distro i was told that ubuntu 10.4 is very user-friendly, Zorin i don't even know that distro :\
 
I would definitely recommend Ubuntu for you. You will be able to do everything you want to do with a computer with little to no problems. Don't forget that you will not be able to run any windows specific applications (like Photoshop, for example). As with everything, there are some great linux alternatives, but please do not be surprised if you can not find Microsoft Excel in the Ubuntu Software Center.

Give it a go, you will not regret!
 

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